You’ve seen them before: the people dressed up in strange outfits, running around town, or in schools, etc. It’s not Halloween, in fact, it’s the middle of the year, and yet a small group of people really enjoys doing this on a fairly regular basis. This is the group known as: the cos-players. Cosplay literally means: costume-play, and it is exactly that. People dress up in costumes to emulate their favorite characters from video games, TV shows, anime, movies, and more. Typically, these people go to conventions, purchase memorabilia from many different categories they like, and then go home and post pictures of their cosplay online. If you think it’s strange, you’re not alone. I did, too. In fact, for the longest time, I hated anime, cosplay, and everything to do with it. Though perhaps that was because people used to cosplay in school, which is what annoyed me more than anything. However, after I met my husband, he introduced me to the world of anime and cosplay, and now I love it, and probably won’t stop doing it until I’m in my fifties or sixties. Here’s why:
It Helps Me Get Out of My Shell
As you know by now, I am a very introverted person. I can fake extroversion for the sake of work, but I need time to relax, unwind, do my own thing, and be myself. I need room to express myself in ways that I can’t when I am at work. Therefore, cosplay helps get me out of my shell a little bit. By dressing up as a character that I like, I am able to show others around me the things that I enjoy, and have a little bit of fun while doing it. Plus, it helps me to find others with a common interest. Since my husband and I go to anime conventions and comic-cons on a yearly basis, it is nice to be able to see people of a similar mindset, dressed up in their wide variety of outfits. Plus, if I meet someone who likes my outfit, or if I like theirs, we can strike up a conversation, talk about each character that the other is emulating, and maybe even make some new friends.
It Gets Me Out of My Comfort Zone
Another reason why I like cosplay is because it challenges me and gets me out of my comfort zone. When I was in high school, I wouldn’t have been caught dead cos-playing. Now, though, it’s something that I really enjoy. I definitely feel a bit nervous walking down the street every time that I am headed to the convention, especially with all the people that are not going to the convention, but who are walking by or driving down the same road. I can feel their eyes staring at me, I wonder what they think, and I start to worry that they are silently judging me, especially since I am in my twenties and am still enjoying stuff like this. Whatever, let them judge. If they don’t like it, that’s their prerogative. I don’t dress up inappropriately in any manner, and I don’t emulate anyone violent, so I feel that what I am doing is just a unique, interesting way to have some fun.
It Allows Me to Be Creative
When I am coming up with my cosplay outfits, I go all-out. I don’t just go for the “cheap” version of the outfit by throwing together things that I have around the house. I usually start with eBay or similar sites to see if I can find the full outfit of what I am looking for. If I can’t, then I set to work figuring out how I can make the outfit look like the thing I am trying to emulate, while also making it my own. This year, I am going as the Cheshire Cat from the original Alice in Wonderland. Therefore, I have spent over a year putting together all the different pieces of the outfit, but it is now complete. The comic-con that my husband and I are going to is in June, and I am beyond excited to show off this outfit, maybe take a few pictures with people, and see what others think of it. This will also have been my most creative cos-play thus far, though next year’s will be even more complicated, as it will require actually making the majority of it. Next year, I will be going as Koro-Sensei from Assassination Classroom, which should be pretty challenging.
Here’s what this year’s Cheshire Cat cosplay is composed of:
Finally, I am trying to decide if I want to do makeup or not for this outfit. At the very least, I will paint my nose and paint on some whiskers, but I don’t know if I want to do more or not. I wear purple glasses, so anything else might be overkill. But here are a few of the makeup options that I am thinking of so far:
I am more of a simple girl, so I think that I would be more comfortable doing the makeup like the second picture, but with a pink/purple nose instead. However, I do think that it would be fun to try and go all-out with the makeup from the first picture. I really can’t decide. I have until July to figure it out, so I guess we shall see what my husband thinks I should do when that time comes.
Well everyone, that’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed learning more about why I like Cos-playing, and hope that you may be adventurous enough to try it yourself. It really is quite fun! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please send them my way!
Blurbs By Bythnia 
